Slumdog Ivy Leaguer

Dan Golden, author of “The Price of Admission,” gave a stinging indictment of the admissions practices of colleges and universities for favoring students from wealthy families, children of alumni and athletes. He estimated those students make up a third to 40 percent of the student body at many colleges. “It’s indisputable that students from rich families and private schools are over-represented at America’s top universities.”

He went on: “There’s something about these admissions perks for the rich that violates our basic notions of what America stands for — fairness, equal opportunity, upward mobility, particularlyin an era of growing social and economic inequality. The unfairness breeds cynicism among teenagers who represent America’s future and learn even before they’re old enough to vote that money talks louder than merit.” His full speech will be posted soon.